


A Soft Place to Land

by MarvelousMusings



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Angsty Characters are Angsty, But also, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Characters are Fluffy, Hogwarts Professors, I'm Bad At Tagging, winterprincess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:28:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23625391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelousMusings/pseuds/MarvelousMusings
Summary: Shuri Udaku is the visiting professor of alchemy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and she comes bearing new ideas that aren't looked upon highly by many of the teaching staff - most notably, one Professor James Barnes.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Shuri
Comments: 46
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't come for me, Harry Potter stans. Anxieties are high. Motivations are low. Fun AUs are necessary. Happy reading! <3

**CHAPTER ONE**

Their first meeting had been an entirely unpleasant one. Shuri had insisted that she travel along with her selected students to Hogwarts to ensure their safe arrival. That choice had set her a full day behind the other staff, who had arrived a day prior to the students for pleasantries and preparations. She’d been stumbling through the empty corridors on the night of the start of term feast, frustration mounting at the useless septuple-fold map of the castle and grounds that the grumbling caretaker had provided her upon her arrival, when they first crossed paths.

“You should be at the feast,” he’d called as he marched out of the teacher’s lounge, “Nothing good comes from wandering in this castle.”

“Oh, I wasn’t...” she let out a soft chuckle, folding away the map, “I was just trying to get my bearings. If you could point me to the alchemy classroom-”

She had been so taken aback by the hands on her shoulders – gripping tightly and spinning her until she was facing back the way from which she came – that she hadn’t even been able to form a coherent thought in return. “Great Hall. Now.”

The Hall had gone deadly silent when they’d made their way through the massive oak doors. Eyes from all directions, including the teachers’ table, were on them. She had to choke on a laugh at how brightly his face flushed when Minerva McGonagall’s eyes landed on them from her perch at the podium. It was evident that she’d been in the middle of a welcome speech.

“Sorry,” he murmured, with an apologetic smile, “I ...found a straggler. Just makin’ sure she’s where she needs to be.”

“So you did,” McGonagall chided, her tone sharp, “Thank you for electing to join us, Professors; I was _just_ getting to you.”

His head whipped around so fast that it nearly threw Shuri off balance. She could just make out a smattering of students surrounding them murmuring with laughter. “ _Professor?_ ” he whispered, his tone accusatory, as he dropped his grip from her shoulder.

She took great pleasure in his mounting embarrassment as they made their way to the forward table amid stares and whispers. Once they were seated at the places nearest the table’s end, McGonagall turned back to the students and continued, “Professors Shuri Udaku from the Uagadou Institute and James Barnes from Ilvermorny will be joining us for the school year as we endeavor to take on a more... _worldly_ educational purview. While principally they are here as representatives of their own higher education programs, they will also be serving as interim professors of alchemy and transfiguration, respectively. Welcome, Professors.”

As the students began to settle in again, their attentions returning to the headmistress, James leaned in close, his voice a low rumble, “I didn’t mean to...embarrass you.”

It took everything in her to keep her tone and expression even. The last thing she knew she needed was for any students to catch sight of their sidebar, “That’s alright. I’m not _unaccustomed_ to American arrogance.” He tensed alongside her, but didn’t rebut, “Besides, judging by the shade of red you’re still sporting around the ears I’d say you took the brunt of the embarrassment yourself, Professor Barnes.” This caused them to flame all the brighter.

“How was I supposed to know you were a teacher?” he asked pointedly, standing and applauding with the rest of the Hall as the headmistress stepped down from the podium and food began materializing in massive quantities down the expanses of the long tables.

“You could have asked,” Shuri said, sparing him a small smile before turning to fill her plate.

“Well,” he sputtered, following her lead and slopping several spoonfuls of roasted potatoes onto his own plate while he collected his thoughts, “you can’t _really_ blame me for assuming….you don’t look the part.”

“Really? And what was it you were expecting, Professor?” she asked, abandoning her plate entirely then and turning to face him, letting her chin rest on her hand.

He ducked his head, “You know... _generally_...when someone mentions _alchemy-_ ”

“You were expecting a spindly old man, weren’t you?” she asked knowingly.

“Sorry,” Barnes muttered, “Maybe we should...start over here.”

“Yes; I think that would be best,” she agreed, relaxing visibly into her seat, taking the hand that he extended in greeting.

“James Barnes. Friends call me Bucky.”

She shook his hand once, a curt thing, before turning back to face her place setting. “Shuri Udaku.”

“Good to meet you, Professor _._ ”

The next hour had been painful to say the least. Each tried their best to keep up the idle chit chat, but nearly every other word out of James’s mouth set Shuri’s teeth on edge. She kept her answers short, resorting frequently to “ _Mhmm”_ and “ _Ah”,_ as it became increasingly evident that he often spoke just to fill silence. The man clearly loved the sound of his own voice, she reasoned.

“ _Alchemy, huh?_ _H_ _asn’t been taught at Ilvermorny in_ _decades_ _. Headmaster Fontaine called it antiquated pseudo-magick._ _Your students at Uagadou do alchemical research? What is there left to be discovered, really? There can’t be much._ ”

Shuri had managed to keep her mouth closed and eyes forward for the duration of the unbearable conversation. She’d made it through two courses and the dessert had just been laid out before them when he brought on the topic that finally caused her to snap.

“Where are you staying?” Barnes asked idly, as he pushed scraps of pheasant from one side of his plate to the other.

She faced straight ahead, her voice straining at pleasantness as she replied, “My students were allotted rooms on the lower levels, with Slytherin house. Minerva thought it would be a good fit. I’ll have the professors’ quarters adjacent.”

He snorted into his drink then, catching himself a moment later, “Sorry.”

“Is something funny?” Shuri asked pointedly.

“Oh, no.” He shook his head, coughing lightly to cover another bought of chuckles, “You know the reputation Slytherin house comes with, I’m sure.”

It took everything Shuri had to keep from bashing her fists against the table in annoyance. But she’d already been mistaken for a student once that day; she didn’t need to be adding fuel to that fire by acting petulant. She took a steadying breath, before leaning in close, “I’ll have you know that out of the dozen students from _this_ school that have gone through my program at Uagadou all but _one_ have been from Slytherin house, and they have gone on to great things. The only _reputation_ that precedes them is one of excellence. I certainly hope you don’t bring your biases into your classroom, Professor Barnes. It would be a shame to see your students suffer due to your...opinions.”

None of the students had been paying the two any mind. From down the professors’ table, though, she could feel at least a dozen eyes burning straight through her as she made her way from the Great Hall. Shuri turned to shut the door, watching as James leaned over her now-vacant seat to strike up light conversation with the older woman sat to his left. As much as she hated to admit it, it made her blood boil to see how utterly unphased he had been by her outburst. She knew she shouldn’t have, but as the door swung shut, she snapped her fingers and watched in amusement as his goblet flew from his fingers and sloshed down the front of his robes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the sweet comments on the first chapter. I think I'm going to try to put out a chapter a day going forward. Writing helps to keep my mind off of the crazy things that are going on in the world right now. Hope you all are well. Enjoy chapter two!

**CHAPTER TWO**

Shuri stood just outside of her office, watching as a final smattering of students made their way into her classroom. There were more than she had anticipated, more than the roster had indicated. Her first classes of the day had included a rudimentary fare of first year introductory courses, a handful of resource period supervisions, and a particularly jittery group of fifth year Ravenclaws who, after taking one look at the syllabi began to panic over their forthcoming OWLs. Her reassurance that the exams were more than six months away did nothing to quell the nervous energy for the rest of that period.

The morning had gone smoothly, all things considered. The afternoon class, though, had had her stomach in knots since lunch. After lunch were the seventh years – students who would not only be tied up in knots over their NEWTs preparations, but who would ultimately use the class to determine whether or not further education and a career in alchemical research was really for them. The stakes were high.

As the grandfather clock in the foyer chimed 1, she pushed her way through the classroom door, her teaching materials held tightly to her chest. The classroom was alive with loud chatter, students turned every which way in the lecture hall as they continued conversations from their passing period. Not one budged when Shuri set her materials down on her desk and clasped her hands in front of herself.

“Good afternoon, class,” she called, her voice swallowed up with the crowd.

She cleared her throat before trying once again, to no avail.

Rolling her eyes, she pressed her own finger to her throat, murmuring a quick spell before trying once more, “ _Good afternoon, class!_ ”

Several jumped. The sound of her sharp voice reverberated off of the cold stone floor, the ceiling and walls, shocking even herself. She was met with a smattering of _good morning, professor_ in reply.

Once the class had settled in and the room had fallen quiet, Shuri turned to the black board behind herself, and with a quick wave of her hand her name and the course title both appeared. “Welcome to _Advanced Alchemy,_ ” she said warmly, as she began to pace the pulpit, “I am Professor Udaku; I will be guiding you in this term’s studies. Now, as the class name suggests, this course is advanced. There will be no assignments.” There was a rise from the students then, several leaning over seats to high five classmates, “Don’t get too excited, now,” she chuckled, “There is the unavoidable factor of your NEWT exams at the end of Spring term, so we will still have classwork. Aside from that, you will be encouraged to research throughout the year. You will expound upon already established theories or, if you’re lucky, uncover findings of your own. I will be here as a resource, obviously, but you will be principally responsible for you own work. At the end of term you will provide me with five feet of parchment on your personal discoveries and this will be your determining grade for the year.”

“So,” a voice interjected from the back of the room – a slovenly young man with his tie askew and hair flying every which way, “one paper. That’s it?”

“That’s right,” Shuri nodded, “but I assure you, it will be graded through a more stringent lens than I can imagine you've experienced in the past. This is university level work, if you will. It will _not_ be something that you will be able to come up with overnight. If you do _not_ think you are prepared to put in the work, I would suggest you take a look that Hogwarts’s other offerings.”

The room was deadly silent, then. _Good._

A hand shot into the air then, an equally unkempt boy who sat directly next to the first. Shuri extended a hand, offering him the floor to speak, “Yes, Mister-”

“Sander McGovern, Miss. Ilvermorny School.”

“Well, Mr. McGovern?”

“I’m just wondering how we are supposed to do _original research_ on a subject like alchemy. I mean, it _is_ an anti-”

“An antiquated pseudo-magick,” she interjected with a humored smile, “Yes, so I’ve been told.”

That was met with several quiet chuckles from the middle of the room.

“So...if we already know how everything _works-_ ”

“What you are implying is _,_ ” Shuri spoke, cutting the young man off once again and turning the corner to come to rest behind her desk, “ _if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?_ ” she asked, her brow quirked as she leaned forward to flatten her palms against the desk, “Isn’t that the saying?”

McGovern swallowed thickly, shrinking back in his chair then, “Yeah, that’s...uh, that’s the one.”

“Well, Mr. McGovern, that sort of attitude certainly will _not_ be tolerated in my classroom. I tend to believe that just because something _works,_ does not mean that it can’t be improved.” She was met with silence, “If you don’t think you’ll be able to get on board, I suggest you head down to the registrar and ask to have your class schedule adjusted accordingly.”

A murmuring of concern spread across the classroom then, as she gave the students a moment to regain their bearings. Several fled for the door. Later that day she would feel badly for scaring them off, but in the moment, not so much.

“Most of you have taken an alchemy course before, so you’d ought to know what is expected,” Shuri continued, turning back to the room at large, “For those of you that have not, if you apply yourself you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. The elements,” she shook her head fondly, “they’re fickle friends. But once you’ve mastered them...you’ve mastered all magicks.”

The room rang with silence as Shuri peered around at their stunned faces. “Right. Now that I’ve got you _properly_ frightened,” she said, the corners of her mouth twitching upward ever so slightly, “we’d best get started. Textbooks out. Wands away.”

_That_ was met with an audible grumble. _Like always,_ she noted with a smirk _._

Shuri let out a laugh as she leaned against her desk, her arms crossed over of her chest, “Oh, no,” she chuckled, “None of that. Go ahead; put them away. And once you have, I’ll have each of you show me your best levitation charm. In your own time.”

“But Professor,” a sallow young boy asked from the front row, “how are we meant to-”

“Like so,” she said, and with a snap of her fingers the boy’s wand slipped from his hand and into his book bag, causing him to jump. It caused the rest of the class to work double-time, shoving their wands away and setting their books out in front, “Go ahead. I want to see at least one good attempt from everybody here.”

She climbed the stairs, descending the other side, as she watched each student’s futile attempts. Some pointed at their textbooks as if berating them for poor behavior. Others tried to give their book a flying start, flinging them skyward and hoping that they would catch midair. Some tried silent incantations while others bellowed _wingardium leviosa_ with varying levels of ferocity.

“Come on, now!” she chided, a wry smile on her face, “The wand is a modern invention – a useful conduit, yes - but magic flows through you and around you. You _can-_ ”

“ _Professor!_ ”

The cry from across the room caught her attention, along with the attentions of the other students as they all turned toward the middle of the room. There, her eyes wide as saucers, stood one of the smallest students in the room, her textbook hovering just an inch of so off the palm of her hand. Shuri made her way over quickly, watching as the girl moved her hand from side to side experimentally, watching as the book trailed after it. “That’s very good,” Shuri nodded eagerly, bending down so that she was eye-level with the separation between book and hand, “Try something for me. I want you to close your eyes and try to shift the book from your left hand to your right.”

Brow furrowed with focus, the girl did as she was told.

_Crack._

The door slammed shut, pulling the student's focus and causing her to jump. And as soon as her focus faltered, her text went soaring into the rafters, causing several of her classmates to have to dodge wildly as it landing on the floor with a reverberating _thunk._

Shuri let out an exasperated grumble, turning with arms crossed to face the intruder. There he stood, at the top of the lyceum with clipboard in hand, “We’re in the middle of a lesson, Professor Barnes. Can I help you with something?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact,” he called down, “I’ll need the following students to follow me.”

“I’m sorry,” Shuri interjected, making her way up the steps so that they could be on even footing, “but I still have twenty minutes. You’ll need to collect them after.”

He shook his head, “No can do. There are a few students that haven’t taken their placements for my class yet and I’ve got them next period, so I’ll need to get this done now.”

“Professor-”

“Listen, McGonagall told me I could only pull them during an elective, and _this_ happens to be an elective.” He turned to the room at large then, giving his clipboard a glance before calling out several names, “Connor Billings. Casey Montag. Rebecca Proctor-”

With a dejected huff the petite girl collected her textbook from the floor where it had unceremoniously landed, cramming it into her book bag and following the other students who formed a line along the edge of the room. He continued on until nearly a third of the class was lined up, waiting for their next instruction. Shuri let out a frustrated sigh as he lead his group from the room. She only narrowly caught the girl - Rebecca - that had managed to levitate her textbook.

“Wait just a moment,” Shuri murmured, pulling her off to the side, “That was very impressive, what you did today,” she said with a reassuring smile, “You keep practicing that; I’ll want to see more of it next class.”

“Can do, Professor,” she said, breaking into a crooked smile, before darting off after her classmates.

With a huff, Shuri turned and made her way back into her classroom and down the steps, pulling the focus of her students once again, “Well, there’s no point in continuing if so many aren’t here,” she sighed, shaking her head as she rounded her desk to begin packing away her own things, “Continue practicing your wandless levitation spells. I’ll expect to see _something_ from all of you by the end of the week. Class dismissed.”

When the door had closed behind the final students, she slumped into her chair, massaging tiredly at her temples. She couldn't have said whether it was the exhausting first day of teaching, or her inability to tolerate the rude American professor who had managed to put a swift end to what had been panning out to be a rather successful class, but she found herself nearly boiling over with anger the more she thought. Letting her hands fall harshly upon the mahogany desktop, she heaved herself to her feet in the next moment, charging out the door and down the corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Per the usual, comments and kudos feed the writer brain! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bear to finish, tbh. But it's good that it's finished because now we're actually getting into the meat and taters of the story. I hope you enjoy chapter three!

CHAPTER THREE

Shuri had been stationed outside of Professor Barnes’s office for the better part of fifteen minutes, smashing her fist harshly against the door frame. Her arm burned and her fingers had all but lost feeling, but she was insistent – she was  _ not  _ going to be ignored.

“Professor Barnes, could I speak to you for  _ just one moment.  _ I am-”

“ _ What are you doing, doll? _ ”

Her nostrils flared, her anger near tangible as she whipped around to find Barnes standing directly behind her, hands tucked neatly into his pockets, “Could I speak to you in your office?”

Confusion evident on his face, Professor Barnes unsheathed his wand and tapped the door handle twice, allowing it to swing wide and for Shuri to march past him, “You’re angry,” he stated matter-of-factly, giving her a wide berth as he made his way around to his desk. From the furthest corner of the massive mahogany monstrosity, he pulled a try with a set of intricately designed glass bottles toward himself, uncorking one, “Have a seat, doll.”

“ _ Don’t call me that, _ ” she glowered, her tone sinister, “And if you try a  _ stunt  _ like that again-”

“What sort of stunt would that be?” Barnes asked, letting out a grunt as he collapsed into his chair and loosened his tie, “I already told you that McGonagall said I could only take them out during an elective and I was running out of time, so-”

“You’re telling me that all that time you and I had  _ corresponding  _ resource periods, you didn’t think to take them out then?” she countered, her arms crossed over her chest. It had been a long day, and it was evident due to the pounding in her head and his drooping eyelids. On any regular day, she would’ve been frustrated, thrown her hands up and gone to her quarters to seethe. But on this  _ particular  _ day, for some reason, the exhaustion only spurred her onward. “ _ Why? _ ”

“Sorry,” he murmured, clearly taken aback. Barnes poured two glasses before slumping into his chair and shunting one across his desk in her direction, “I didn’t mean any disrespect; sit. Have a drink.”

She eyed the amber liquid with suspicion, “What is that?”

“Just some firewhiskey.”

With a continued accusatory glare, she quietly sank into the seat across from him, taking the offered drink and downing it in one, “You can _ not  _ supersede me like that again, Professor Barnes.”

“I told you; you can call me Buck-”

“ _ No, _ ” she shook her head, as he moved to refill her empty glass, “You said that  _ friends c _ all you Bucky; you and I are not  _ friends. _ ”

Barnes watched her with particular interest as she leaned forward to take her refilled glass, this time sipping at it gingerly, “I’m sorry I upset you.”

“You apologize a lot.”

“I guess I’ve got a lot to apologize for.”

“Well, as long as you realize that, I suppose that’s a start,” she said, the corners of her mouth inching upward into an echo of a smile against her better judgment, “I know you don’t think that my field is of any particular import, Professor Barnes, but I do have to ask that you not interrupt my classes again.  _ Some  _ people happen to find value in them.”

He nodded, sipping at his own drink as he leaned back in his chair, swiveling a bit at the knees, “I know you won’t believe it, but it really wasn’t anything personal.”

“I didn’t think it was,” she conceded, “I’m sure you don’t have anything against me personally. And I’ve dealt with worse than one colleague thinking my field is bogus. I just ask that you allow your students – because some of them show promise – to study in my field, unimpeded.”

A thoughtful silence settled between the two before the grandfather clock clanged to life once more, drawing both from their reverie, “I’ve got a class in half an hour,” Barnes murmured with a heavy sigh, finishing his drink and heaving himself up from his chair, “Third year Hufflepuffs.”

“Hm,” she grumbled, tapping the rim of her glass and sending it soaring back from whence it came, “Do you always drink before your evening classes?”

“Do  _ you? _ ” he asked, cleaning and replacing his own glass.

“I’m finished for the night, actually,” Shuri said, “You, on the other hand, still have several hours to go. What will you say if someone catches you stumbling?”

“The truth.”

“Which is?”

“Had a girl to butter up.”

She snorted despite herself. “Cute.”

Shuri shoved herself to her feet, following him back as he headed for the door. She couldn’t help but notice the slight hue of pink that tinged his nose and hovered in his cheeks. They made their way out into the corridor, each about to head their separate ways when a looming figure caused them to stop in their tracks, “Minerva,” Shuri mumbled out in greeting as the older woman’s glance darted between the two.

“Good to see you’re both getting on,” she said, though the accusatory look she gave over the top of her spectacles seemed to indicate otherwise, “I’d meant to send an owl, but since you’re both here, I’ll be needing one of you to chaperon this weekend’s day trip to Hogsmeade.”

“Of course,” Shuri nodded without hesitation, “I’d be more than happy.”

“Right,” McGonagall nodded then, turning a slightly less-fond gaze on Professor Barnes, “that will leave you with Saturday afternoon detention duty.”

Shuri swallowed down another laugh. Barnes’s eyes went wide before he could stop it, but he was quick to right himself, “Minerva, I was hoping that I would be able to chaperon my  _ own _ students-”

“Oh, you will be,” she said, handing him the roster for his detention supervisions, “Sander McGovern was found wandering near the Whomping Willow with several others from  _ your  _ delegation. You’d ought to be keeping a better eye on your students, Barnes. We were under the impression that these were some of your  _ best. _ ”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said. If they weren’t directly in front of the headmistress herself, Shuri would have been doubled over in laughter at how quickly his facade had fallen.

“Very good,” the headmistress said, then, as the clock struck five, “Yes, well...good evening.”

As soon as the woman was around the corner and out of earshot, Shuri elbowed Barnes with a snort, “Stop that,” he murmured, elbowing her back in kind, “She’s an intimidating woman.”

“I don’t know. I find her  _ very  _ pleasant,” Shuri said, though she couldn’t quite keep her expression even, threatening to fall into another bout of giggles.

“Maybe that’s because you two are one and the same,” he argued back.

“Hmm. Could be,” she murmured with a shake of her head, turning to him as they prepared to go their separate ways, “Have a good class, Professor.”

“You too,  _ Professor,”  _ Barnes called over his shoulder, mentally smacking himself when he realized that she’d told him to less than five minutes prior that she was finished with classes for the night.  _ You too? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos and/or a comment. They encourage me more than they should. XD


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

“ _ Good! _ ” Shuri cheered, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she anxiously watched her seventh-year students. They stood shoulder to shoulder, passing a potted mandrake sapling, hovering an inch off of their palms as it passed from person to person. Some were more proficient than others; at one point near the middle of the pack the mandrake had nearly gone flying, but from then on it had passed smoothly from one hand to the next, “Very good.  _ Excellent! _ ” she congratulated as it came to rest in front of the last student in the line.

“Now,” she all but whispered, her eyes on her prize pupil, “Rebecca, I’d like you to pass the mandrake back to me, if you would, please.”

The girl stepped out of line, then, making her way toward the professor’s desk, but stopped cold when Shuri held a hand up, “Professor?”

“I said I wanted you to  _ pass  _ it to me, Ms. Proctor,” she said, standing from her desk chair and taking a few steps backward, “Back in line. And this time,  _ pass it. _ ”

The room fell deadly quiet as Rebecca fell back in line, the potted plant held tight between her hands, “When you’re ready,” the professor said, holding her hands out encouragingly, “When you’re ready.”

Rebecca shook her head doubtfully, taking in a breath as she willed the pot to inch its way through the air – off the surface of her palm and into the center of the room. It was a tense half-minute, watching as the mandrake gained a few feet of altitude, before dropping nearly all the way to the floor, repeating until it was mere inches from the professor’s desk. There was a collective sigh of relief when the pot finally touched down softly on the desk in front of Shuri.

“ _ Yes! _ ” she practically bellowed, elated at the progress the class had made, “Ear muffs off. This is wonderful,  _ wonderful  _ progress. For three classes? Unheard of.”

The students began to fall out of line then, some heading back to their seats while others still broke off into small groups to discuss the morning’s events. “I’d say that’s all for today,” she called over the low roar of the class packing up their things, “Very nicely done everyone. We will be moving on next class. I’ll expect a roll of parchment each on elemental magic, its origins and implementation in the modern day, due Monday afternoon. Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy  _ Hogsmeade. _ ”

Shuri collected her things quickly and followed directly behind the students, into the hall where a small gaggle of girls had remained clustered around her doorway. The last few days had helped Shuri find her rhythm. Her students were bright – far more advanced than she’d expected them to be after only three classes together – and it gave her hope for the remainder of the year.

Everything seemed to be falling neatly into place. Even Barnes seemed to be grating on her nerves less than he had in previous days. They were by no means  _ friends,  _ but she no longer felt her blood pressure rise every time he opened his mouth so she’d deemed that  _ progress. _

Saturday morning dawned cool and bright. Shuri had gotten up exceptionally early, hoping that she’d be the first one down in order to get a decent head count. What she’d not expected were the throngs of students already awaiting her arrival on the front lawn.

As she made her way outside, she pressed a fingertip to her own throat, projecting her voice over the sea of students, “ _ Good morning, _ ” she called, and they went silent almost immediately, save for the occasional excited rumble. “Please listen closely for your name to be called.”

She quickly took tally of all of the students, making quick work of the couple hundred names, eager to get out of the dewy cold of the morning. “Very good; older students may proceed down the path to town. Third years, I need you to bring me your permission slips. Line up, please!”

Window shopping had always been one of Shuri’s few vices. For that reason, her morning of chaperoning was made entirely tolerable. The quill shop she’d found particularly interesting, and she’d spent close to an hour admiring the inventory and chatting to the old man who sat behind the counter.

Running a nosy set of fourth year boys off from the Shrieking Shack hadn’t exactly been a highlight, but the walk back to the high street under the changing leaves was pleasant. She’d attempted a spin around Honeydukes, though it had been crammed shoulder to shoulder with students. A quick dip into Florean Fortescue’s satiated the need for something sweet.

Her enjoyment of it was short-lived, though, for almost as soon as she’d stepped outside, she was shunted by a wildly darting frame, her cone flying from her hand and splattering across the sidewalk. If she hadn’t been so disappointed, the mortified look on the boy’s face would’ve likely caused her to laugh. He stopped cold, his eyes wide, holding what appeared to be a sparking disk in his hand.

“ _ Connor! Toss it! _ ” one of his playmates bellowed from across the square, as the thing in his hand began beeping and vibrating wildly. He came back to his senses just fast enough to send it flying into the air where it burst into a shocking display of fireworks before disappearing entirely. To Shuri’s eye, they had been playing what looked like a relatively higher-stakes game of Hot Potato. And by the looks of Connor Billings’s eyebrows, he’d already lost a few rounds.

“S-sorry, Professor,” he eked out, his eyes flying rapidly between Shuri and the mess on the pavement, “I can...uh, I-I-”

“I told you to be careful with those, Billings. Scram.”

At the feaux-harsh tone, the boy went scrambling back to his pack of friends. Barnes stood before her then, looking worse for wear himself, with a scorched collar and hair askew. He’d clearly been on the receiving end of at least one lost round himself. “What was that?” Shuri asked pointedly.

“Flaming Frisbees.”

“Uh huh,” she nodded, waiting for the further explanation that did not come.

Peering over his shoulder, Barnes caught sight of the gaggle of students watching from across the way. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he put a hand on Shuri’s shoulder, steering her back toward the door to Fortescue’s, “Let me replace that for you,” he murmured, clearing the old ice cream from the sidewalk with a hasty flourish of his wand.

“Oh, no; you don’t have to-”

“I was going to get something for myself anyway. You may as well let me buy you an ice cream,” he said, removing his hand from her shoulder, but motioning toward the door and waiting for her to react. With more of a huff than was necessary, Shuri flung the door open and made her way into the parlor for the second time that afternoon. And to her credit, she didn’t say a word when she saw another game of Flaming Frisbee pick up as soon as the door had closed behind them.

They’d ordered quickly – a scoop of the toffee pudding flavor for herself and a steaming cup of coffee for Barnes (something she’d found practically sacrilegious;  _ who goes into a creamery to order one black coffee? _ ) - and found seats near the front of the store, so that they could keep an eye on things outside through the windows, “I thought you had detention duty this afternoon, Professor.”

“I  _ did, _ ” he agreed, taking a sip off the top of his cup before adding in a spoonful of sugar and giving it a mix, “I traded duties with Longbottom from herbology. He’s got McGovern and his whole posse out in the greenhouses, spraying the mandrakes for aphids. I was just going to have them write lines, but this...I’d say it’s likely more of a deterrent to future...misconduct.”

She let out a huff of a laugh, “Clever,” she murmured, eyeing the scorch marks at his collar, “I can fix that.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he chuckled, shaking his head. Shuri reached out nonetheless, giving the collar a light tug and when her fingers fell away the black and brown singe had given way to crisp, white cotton. He couldn’t help but admire her work in the window’s reflection, “Thanks. That’s a...handy trick.”

Shuri let the comment sit, leaning back and tucking into her ice cream, “I’d say those Flaming Frisbees are the reason Zonko’s products are banned. I wouldn’t go encouraging students, if I were you.”

“The handbook says they’re banned on school grounds. And we are  _ not  _ on school grounds,” Barnes pointed out matter-of-factly, his hands folding together on the table in front of himself, “There ain’t anything wrong with havin’ a little fun.”

They both sat quietly for the interim, watching through the windows as the midday sun beat down and several packs of students began to slowly make their way back down the path toward the school. Shuri finished her ice cream slowly, watching as her table partner’s coffee went cold and he eventually pushed it off to the side. The bell over the door rang, pulling them both from their reverie after several minutes of serene silence.

Barnes had been the first one to turn his attention to the door, his pensive expression lightening substantially as he did. It took everything Shuri had to keep her own expression even when Rebecca Proctor came skipping in, skittering a chair into position and collapsing directly next to Barnes, her chin in her hands and eyelashes batting wildly.

“Hey,  _ Buck? _ ” she asked, her expression one of sickening sweetness.

“Hey,  _ Beck, _ ” he shot back, in an equally jarring tone.

Once it became clear that the act wouldn’t phase him, she dropped it almost instantaneously, “Can I have two sickles?”

“ _ For? _ ”

“One more batch of Flaming Frisbees?”

He let out a beleaguered  _ hmph  _ digging dramatically into his pockets before dumping a fistful of change into the girl’s hand, “That’s it. Don’t come asking me for any more money. You’re gonna run me outta business.”

Shuri couldn’t help but notice the casual slip he’d made into something of a more regionalized lilt.  _ Interesting. _

Rebecca took the money with a quick  _ thanks  _ and a kiss on the cheek that seemed to take both Barnes and Shuri off guard. Once the door had shut firmly behind her and Shuri had gotten her bearings, she sat back and crossed her arms, watching as the man’s ears flamed a deep shade of red. “So...do you bribe all of your students with illegal contraband or-”

“Just the ones I’m related to,” he said with an absent smile, shaking his head as he brought himself back to the present moment, “Beck is my sister.”

Shuri’s eyebrows shot high then and she leaned forward with interest, elbows on the table, “ _ Rebecca Proctor  _ is  _ your  _ sister?”

“Don’t act so surprised,” Barnes chuckled.

“Sorry,” she admitted, “it’s just that...she’s so quiet and  _ polite... _ and  _ you’re  _ so-”

“-widely known for putting my foot in my mouth?”

“Well... _ yes... _ ” she murmured with her eyes trained on the table; she was treading dangerously close to  _ foot in mouth  _ sentiments herself, it seemed.

Barnes gave some half-heartedly murmured reply before turning back to the window, watching as his students ran from one end of the square to the other, tossing the frisbees between themselves. He’d all but zoned out once again when one of the rogue frisbees went soaring their way. “ _ Shit, _ ” he murmured, reaching into his pocket for his wand, but not quite able to get a good grip on it. A moment before making shattering contact with the window, Shuri lifted her hand, fingers spread wide as if to say  _ stop  _ and the frisbee froze right there in the air, bursting into pieces and fluttering to the ground like confetti.

“Right,” Shuri groaned, pushing back her chair and heaving herself to her feet, “I’d say that’s our cue to call it a night, would you?”

“Yup,” he agreed, standing and following her to the exit, “I’d say that about does it.”

They went their separate ways only momentarily, him to berate the student that had nearly blown a hole clear through Fortescue’s creamery and Shuri to round up the few stragglers who had remained in Zonko’s and Honeydukes.

It was a quick walk back up the lane to the school and as Shuri ticked the final accounted-for students off of her list, preparing to shirk her outer robe and head to her quarters, Barnes grabbed for her. She turned in surprise, her eyebrow quirked in an almost humored way. “ _ Yes? _ ”

Now that he had her attention, his eyes dropped to the ground, “That was really handy what you did back there,” he said, “Maybe you could...show me sometime...you know...how to...” he trailed off, holding his hand out in the same fashion she had in the half hour prior when she stopped the Flaming Frisbee.

Shuri couldn’t help the smile the edged at the corners of her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest, “Tell you what,” she countered, “you come by my class some time. I’m sure one of my  _ students  _ would be happy to give you a lesson.”

“Really,” he barked out a laugh, any semblance of humility gone as he watched her turn to make her way toward the staircase, “That’s how it is?”

“That  _ is  _ how it is _ , _ ” she agreed with a smirk and nod over her shoulder, “ _ Good evening,  _ Professor Barnes.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I certainly hope you enjoy this one. It's been my favorite so far for sure. As always, leave a comment down below. I rely on your encouragement more than I probably should. XD

**CHAPTER FIVE**

“Tell me, Miss Park,” Shuri said as she flicked a finger in the direction of the black board, a large number 1 appearing there, “what is the first of the five exceptions to Gamp’s Elemental Laws of Transfiguration?”

“Yes, Professor; the first of the five is food, followed by-”

Shuri held up a hand with a chuckle, “Just the first, Miss Park. Let your classmates answer. Billings.”

“I-information, Ma’am.”

“Very good,” she nodded to the timid boy, “Followed by? Grimes, the rest, please.”

“Soul. Money-”

“-And love.”

Shuri’s teeth grit hard at the sound of the door slamming closed and footsteps on the staircase.

“Professor Barnes,” she sighed, clasping her hands behind her back as her shoulders squared and her jaw clenched, “I thought we had an agreement. No more interruptions.”

He smirked as he collapsed into a seat in the back row, “I’m not here to _interrupt,_ Professor,” Barnes said, his tone far too innocent for whatever game he was playing. “Had a free period. I’m here to audit. As discussed.”

Shuri pulled at the corner of her sleeve to prevent herself from crossing her arms over her chest. “ _As discu-_ ”

Then it hit her. That evening after the first Hogsmeade visit. _Come by my class sometime._ He’d taken it as a challenge.

Students’ eyes volleyed back and forth between the professors as each stared down the other as if daring them to rebut. A throat cleared from somewhere in the middle of the lecture hall drew Shuri from her reverie.

“Well, Professor Barnes, if you plan to audit my class, then you’d ought to know the first rule,” she said with the merest suggestion of a challenge in her tone, “ _Wands away._ ”

“ _Yes, Ma’am._ ”

It took far more effort than she would have preferred to get back into the swing of things after that. And it certainly didn’t help to have that extra set of eyes boring into her from the back of the room.

“And...if someone could tell the class please...what the primary objective of the earliest alchemists was?”

“It was wealth,” Rebecca piped in from the front row, not even looking up from her hasty note-taking. “Gold-making.”

“And were they successful, Miss Proctor?”

“Hardly. There are centuries’ worth of Fool’s Gold sitting in every wizarding bank from here to Timbuktu to prove that point.”

Shuri nodded her approval before sparing a glance to the back. There Barnes sat, stuffing his wand away into his briefcase before leaning forward, resting his chin on one palm. Clearing her throat, she turned to the black board and got back to the task at hand.

After several minutes more of continued lecture, Shuri let out an exhausted huff, turning to face her students once again. “So, the assignment for this week - now that we’ve touched on all of the basic principles of alchemy – will be to begin considering what you would like to discuss for you end-of-term papers. I will require a proposal of no more than one foot in length, on my desk Monday morning for approval. You may have the rest of today’s class and Friday’s to work on these proposals. Please be diligent with this time.”

As her students began murmuring among themselves, some moving seats while others went directly to work, heads buried in textbooks, Shuri made her way to the top of the theater, pausing as Barnes slid over one seat to offer her space to sit. “So what did you think?” she asked, her voice low so that the students below would not be able to make it out.

“Well, I thought,” he began, leaning back in his seat with a strangely smug expression, “that you taught an _excellent_ transfiguration class. Really nice. Could have given me a run for my money.”

She couldn’t help the roll of her eyes. “Are you trying to tell me to – what’s the saying – _stay in my lane,_ Professor?”

Barnes let out a hearty laugh as he shook his head, “No, no, nothin’ like that. I guess I was just expecting more...you know...gold coins overflowing from pirate chests and immortality elixirs and this...it all seems very normal.”

“It _is_ normal,” she insisted, “Alchemy is all things you already know – charms, herbology, potions, _transfiguration –_ all in one practice. _That_ is what makes it a unique and _beautiful...pseudo-magick._ ”

Shuri gave him a sharp look then that brought on another bout of laughter for both of them. “You’re not letting go of that anytime soon, are you?” he asked, his voice tinged with guilt.

“A man insults my entire life’s work, I tend to not let him forget about it all that easily,” Shuri remarked, giving him a nudge that sent him teetering.

“Well,” she murmured, eyeing the students below, who were all diligently working on their homework for Monday, “since they’re occupied, I suppose you’d like me to show you how to do that _trick,_ as you like to call it, from the ice cream shop?”

“ _Oh,_ ” he said eagerly, pulling from his briefcase his standard-issue attendance book, identical to her own, “I had Becky show me a thing or two Sunday afternoon and she said I almost got it.”

She sat back, one leg crossing over the other as she watched him watch _her._ It left a not-entirely-unpleasant heat in her cheeks that she was quickly trying to get her mind off of, “Let’s see, then.”

It was almost comical – the shaking in his hovering hand, the deep divot in his forehead and the scrunching of his nose, as he tried to will the attendance book into the air. Shuri took the tiniest bit of pleasure in letting him struggle for longer than she would have any student before letting out a sigh, “Maybe we could-”

“ _No,_ I’ve almost got it; I can feel it,” Barnes said, adding a second hand to the mix, both hovering just a half an inch from the book’s surface.

“ _Look, I think that was something!_ ” he exclaimed as the front cover shifted an infinitesimal amount. Shuri had to squint to even see it for herself, “There. I think I did it. See?”

“Are you sure that was you? This room _does_ get rather drafty,” she said, instantly regretting the little jab when she’d looked up to see how proud of himself he’d been. His little smile dropped in an instant.

“Give me a break; I haven’t _done_ this before.”

Shuri shook her head then, shifting into _professor mode_ before his very eyes, “Professor Barnes, when was your first instance of underage or inadvertent magic?”

“What’s that got to do with it?”

“Just _answer_ the question.”

“I don’t know. I was maybe five. My dad had hidden the blanket that I liked to trail around the house on top of the fridge where I couldn’t reach it. I got mad and I guess I summoned it. I did it with anything my parents would try to take.”

“And...tell me _this,_ Professor. At five years old, did you have a wand at your disposal?”

He let out a breath then, his eyes narrowed. He knew where she was going with this. “No. I did not.”

“So you _have_ done wandless magic in the past. You just have to find the _awareness_ to do it again.” she said, clapping her hands together excitedly. He had to admit, it was endearing, the joy she held for her work.

“All I have to do is think like five-year-old me.”

“Yes, that’s the gist,” she said with a sniff. The oversimplification didn’t thrill her, but if it helped him on, she could stomach it. “And, since five-year-old you seemed to be rather adept at summoning, why don’t we try that instead of levitation? Summon my plan book from my desk.”

He gave her a moment’s doubtful glance before turning his attention to the desk situated in the middle of the pulpit, hand outstretched, brow bent in focus. “ _Okay,_ ” Shuri murmured, pursing her lips, “you are trying too hard. Just…close your eyes, visualize it, and then say the spell.”

Eyes closed, he stretched out his arm again, shaking his head as he went, but in the next silent moment, the plan book was flying through the air, only narrowly missing students’ heads as it soared into his hand. Barnes’s eyes shot open just as the clock chimed to indicate the class’s end. “ _Shit._ I did that?”

“You did that,” Shuri nodded, a smile spreading across her face. She stood as her students began climbing the steps to the exit and he did the same, following her as she fought against the current to get back to her desk to pick up her things, “If you decide to come back next class I’ll expect you to be able to send your briefcase into the rafters.”

“Yeah...no promises,” Barnes admitted with a quiet huff.

“Oh.” It was almost dejected, but Shuri quickly righted herself, turning as she hauled her pile of books and paperwork into her arms with a smile, “Well, then I guess I will be seeing you...when I see you.”

Barnes had almost allowed her to get to the top of the theater before he’d found his bearings, taking the steps two at a time and bounding after her, “Actually,” he said, opening the door for her and following her out into the hallway, “I was thinking – speaking of that, _seeing you_ – that I might...take you out sometime? Dinner?”

She froze, mere feet from her office door. Turning to him, her heart began to pick up pace, “Why would we go to dinner?” she asked, because _surely_ he wasn’t suggesting…

But his expression was nothing short of dumbfounded when he’d replied, “You know...like a date?”

“ _Why?_ ” It slipped out before she could quite stop it. And the mortified look on his face made her feel instantly regret it. “I didn’t mean-”

“I don’t know. I thought we had fun in Hogsmeade. Just now...that was... _something._ I wanted to get to know you better.” Barnes said with a shrug.

Her head was swimming. Her face was burning. Students who were walking by on their way to their next class were watching with interest. And most importantly, she was running late. Shuri peered down at her watch and then back up at Barnes with an apologetic gaze. “Bucky, I have to go,” she whispered, taking a step backwards which he'd followed to her surprise, “I, uh, promised Hooch I would supervise the Quidditch try-outs this evening, so I need...to go.”

With that she turned on a heel and darted away, leaving him standing stunned with a half-grin on his face outside of her office. It was only as she exited the foyer out onto the grounds that she’d realized _why_ he’d looked so pleased. _She’d called him Bucky._


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

In the week proceeding the events of the first Hogsmeade visit of the year, the school began to quiet noticeably. The new students and professors from Ilvermorny and Uagadou were no longer the anomaly that they first appeared. Things were beginning to settle. Shuri spent most of the week while she wasn’t teaching, sitting in the professors’ lounge and toiling away over a mile-long list of advisory duties.

As part of the agreement with Hogwarts, she had agreed to allow a handful of students from both Hogwarts and Ilvermorny to study under her personally in an accelerated course that would allow them to have an edge when applying to the further education program at Uagadou. The program didn’t start until the Spring term, but the work for her was already proving tedious and exhausting.

These planning sessions were the only part of teaching that, frankly, Shuri couldn’t stand. There was bureaucracy, all matter of curricula that had to be met, most of which wouldn’t amount to much out in the real world or in the realm of academic research, and it frustrated her to no end that she still had to breach the subjects. In the coming weeks she and her students would be forging forward into _partial human transfiguration_ and she was dreading putting together lessons for the pointless practice.

She’d worked clear through her final planning period, all the way through dinner, and through the clacking of heels and whispering of gossip as other professors made their way in and out of the lounge throughout the afternoon.

“Hey.”

That familiar voice caused her to leap nearly a foot into the air as she whipped around to face the perpetrator. “ _Barnes,_ ” she choked out in surprise, dropping her quill to the table as she fought to catch her breath, “don’t scare me like that.”

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he admitted with a small chuckle as he came in close, setting down a steaming mug on the corner of her work desk. “I thought you might like that. Nothin’ special; just some tea from the kitchens.”

“Mm, thank you,” she murmured, taking the much-needed reprieve and swiveling in her chair to face him as she took a sip from the mug, “You didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged, slipping into one of the plush armchairs along the wall with a grunt, “Ah, I’ve been in and out of here since eight o’clock this morning, so I know for a fact you haven’t budged from _that position_ in at least that long. And every time I happened to come through you looked a _little bit more_ like you wanted to bash your head against that wall.”

That tore a laugh from her.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“ _No,_ no,” Shuri shook her head, digging the heels of her palms into her eyes before letting out a yawn, “I am...just trying to get in shape for the next term.”

“Uh huh,” he nodded along absently, watching idly as she sipped at her drink and maneuvered quill across parchment. It was another minute before she came to the realization that he wasn’t finished.

Shuri let out a hum, sparing him a glance before turning back to her work, “Was there something else?”

“There was, actually,” Bucky said matter-of-factly, leaning against her desk as he peered down at her, “I recall asking you to dinner.”

Shuri continued to scribble as she hummed, “That you did, Professor.”

He let out a hearty laugh, shaking his head. “Don’t _Professor_ me. I heard you call me Bucky; don’t think I didn’t.” Shuri shuddered then as, in the same moment, the lounge door flew open and he whipped away from her desk entirely.

As soon as the door closed behind the intruder, Bucky was back on her. “I asked you out and you ran away so fast I’m pretty sure you left tread marks somewhere near the Great Hall.”

“I told you; I was in a hurry.”

“It doesn’t take that long to give a guy a _yes_ or _no_ answer,” he said, kneeling at her side and covering her frantically scribbling hand with his own. “You can tell me no. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

With a tired sigh, Shuri pulled her glasses from her face and let her eyes fall to him, “I didn’t come here to...Bucky, I am _just_ here trying to do my research and recruit for my program. I’m not _looking_ for anything right now. You can understand that.”

“Just one date, Doll-”

“ _Don’t_ call me that.”

“ _Sorry,_ ” he sighed, letting his hand fall from her wrist, “But, if you don’t want to go to dinner...have a drink with me. Tonight, after work. As colleagues.”

Shuri gave him a doubtful look. “Colleagues?”

“Colleagues drink together,” he said with an innocent shrug, “They... _decompress_ from a hard week at the office. Could be fun.”

She thought for a moment before dropping her quill and letting out a sigh, “You promise that this isn’t a date?”

“This is _not_ a date,” he agreed with a nod, “I just want to know you better.”

She blinked lamely at him for a moment, letting the words spin in her head. “Why?” _Okay. Not the most eloquent._

“Couldn’t say, Doll. There’s just something about you.”

And before she could correct him again for his endearment-of-choice, he was gone.

An owl had appeared half an hour later.

_Three Broomsticks. 8 o’clock._

Oh, she was in it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and/or kudos if you enjoyed this!
> 
> I'm currently accepting fic requests over on Tumblr, so if you would like to see me try something specific in the future you can find me @loonyasalovegood! <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it took a solid two weeks for me to get this right, but I think it's in good shape now and I like where it ended up. That said, I have done absolutely no editing to it, so there's no telling what typos lay ahead. I'm sure I'll catch them tomorrow, like usual. Anyway, let me know down in the comments if you enjoyed this chapter! Y'all know I love your positive feedback! <3

CHAPTER SEVEN

For a _not-date_ Shuri had admittedly spent quite a long time in the mirror, taming a wild head of freshly-washed curls into finger waves, and changing from one outfit to the next. Ultimately, she settled on an autumnal turtleneck and denim shorts. She was always a sucker for muggle fashion.

By the time she was out the door, it was clear she would be late to the Three Broomsticks. But, she figured this wasn’t a _first_ first impression; she could be running a few minutes behind. Besides, it was _just_ drinks, Shuri had to continue to remind herself. She’d been _more_ than abundantly clear.

As Shuri made her way down the cobblestone high street, the music caught her attention first. Drawing closer, the smell of homey foods, mingled with cigar smoke and drink drew her in.

The pub was warm, dim, packed to overflowing. Her small stature wasn’t doing her any favors as she fought through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. She shunted her way up to the bar, shouting in her order for a butterbeer.

“ _Look at you,_ ” Bucky called from over her shoulder, causing her to jump and slosh half of her drink over the counter. Shuri whipped toward him with accusatory eyes, but a smile nonetheless as she rapped him across the shoulder. “ _Sorry,_ ” he chuckled, one hand held up in defense even as the other clung tightly to his own drink.

_Firewhiskey,_ Shuri noted idly.

“Are you going to knock something out of my hand every time we meet or-”

“I said I was sorry,” Bucky laughed, his lips practically pressed against her ear as he bellowed over the music. “You look really pretty.”

“So do you,” she shouted back, her smile dropping almost immediately as she realized what had just come out of her mouth. He , on the other hand, looked endlessly entertained. “I just mean...you look... _very_ nice.”

Upon further inspection, he really did, Shuri had come to realize. Bucky appeared to have also gone for the muggle attire: jeans and a pullover sweater; his hair was pulled back, tight and off of his neck. “Very nice.”

An awkward silence settled between them for a moment as they leaned against the bar top and sipped at their drinks.

“So,” Bucky finally began, drawing her eyes up from her mug, “how did Hooch talk you into babysitting the Quidditch tryouts?” he asked as he took an empty seat and she leaned heavily against the bar.

Shuri let out a disbelieving laugh, eyes sparkling, “Really?” she chuckled.

“What?”

“You didn’t know T’Challa was my brother?”

“No, I didn’t.” His brows shot high. “T’Challa Udaku of the Uganda National team?”

“The very same,” she smiled, “He and I played together for three years at Uagadou. Evidently that held some weight with Madam Hooch,” Shuri said with a shrug. “I really wasn’t ever much good, but who was I to say no?”

“What position were you?”

“ _Beater._ ”

Bucky let out a rumbling laugh, downing the rest of his drink and shaking his head. “ _Why_ does that not surprise me?”

She roared right along with him, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Just that you’re tough. And it...doesn’t surprise me,” he shrugged, taking hold of another tumbler that the bartender slid his way as he passed by.

“You know, I saw your boy out there at practice. McClellan? He’s not bad. I heard some of my students talking about how he was going to be playing for _Ravenclaw_ this year?”

“Yeah. And don’t even get me started on the irony of that,” Bucky conceded, burying himself behind his whiskey as she glared down at him in humored shock. “The kid’s got talent, though. Rumor has it he’s been scouted for the U.S. Junior National League.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to keep my eyes open for him on the circuit next season.”

The next hour was filled with small talk, laughter, even a little bit of dancing. Their drinks had run dry for something like the fourth time when Bucky let out a sigh and shoved himself to his feet. “I’m not ready to call it a night just yet, I don’t think. Are you-”

“Would you...want to get a table?” Shuri asked, butterflies rising in her belly as she bit at her lip, “I skipped dinner, so I could stand to-”

“Yeah,” he nodded far too quickly, heading for the stairs to the second floor before she could even slide off of her bar stool. “Yeah, I could eat.”

His eagerness was endearing. Whether it was for their conversation or for the bar food, she couldn’t quite tell.

Shuri led the way up the stairs, internally sighing in relief as the pounding music faded into near silence. The upper floors had been spelled for a quieter, more quaint atmosphere. They bee-lined for a table in the far corner, as far away from the low roar of the tables full of seventh years cloistered toward the back of the hall as possible.

When the waiter came by, Bucky ordered two of whatever his finger landed on first on the menu, before turning back to Shuri. “So, you’re telling me that you life’s work...had involved finding a cure for _death?_ ”

She snorted into her glass, shaking her head as she did, “It isn’t a cure for death. It was supposed to be a cure-all. Illnesses. Broken bones. Pains. But we hit a wall last year, and...well, that’s why I’m hoping to welcome some new apprentices, _researchers_ into my program.”

Bucky sat in silence, his eyes sparkling in amusement, “That is...it’s amazing. _Really_ amazing.”

She perked up at the unexpected compliment, “Well, thank – _no._ ”

So fast that it nearly made Bucky’s head spin, Shuri ripped her menu from the table, holding it high and shrinking down behind it.

Bucky rose from his seat, peering over the menu at her quizzically. “I’m sorry; I promise not to compliment you again; I mean, if this is the reaction-”

“No. No, no,” she whispered, motioning for him to get down as well before flicking her wrist with an unintelligible murmur. Shuri sat straight as Bucky faded away into nothingness.

“What the hell did you-”

“ _Sh!_ ” Shuri commanded, her eyes focused on someone just behind him. “Stay still.”

Eyes shot to hers then from where a waving couple waited by the host stand.

“ _Shuri!_ ” a familiar voice called as she waved back and plastered a smile across her face.

“ _Neville, Hannah,_ what brings you here?” she asked cheerfully as they made their way over to where she sat, seemingly alone.

The woman let out a trilling laugh as she disengaged her arm from where it was wrapped through Neville’s. “Well, it was supposed to be a much-needed date night, but now it looks like we’ll just be waiting for a table all night.”

“Luckily for you, I’ve just finished,” Shuri said with a wide smile, stomping softly on Bucky’s foot when he let out a too-loud huff of disappointment, “You can take my table.”

Hannah shook her head, holding up a hand as Neville insisted, “No, we _couldn’t-_ ”

“Oh, _please._ They already cleared away our _my,_ ” she corrected herself hastily, “ _my_ plate. I was just about to take off anyway. Please.”

The couple shared a contemplative look before shirking their jackets and pulling back two chairs, taking their seats. Shuri quietly thanked her lucky stars that they hadn’t opted for the one that Bucky was still sitting in, deadly still.

“Right,” Shuri murmured with a wave as she began creeping her way toward the steps, “Well, you two enjoy yourselves and I’ll just be going.”

With that she turned and darted down the steps, through the bar, and out into the chilled night air. The only indication that she hadn’t ditched Bucky at the table was the unwavering weight of a hand pressed into the small of her back.

As soon as they were well out of sight of the other bar-goers, Shuri let her spell drop. “Did you just... _Disillusion_ me?” Bucky asked in his confusion, following Shuri as she started her way back down the path to Hogwarts.

“I did,” she admitted, “And – _uh –_ thank you for playing along. I appreciate it.”

“Do you...mind explaining?” he asked as she stuffed his hands into his pockets and fell into step alongside her.

“It’s nothing,” Shuri conceded, “I would just rather not be seen out on a date with another teacher.”

His brow quirked. “I thought you said this _wasn’t_ a date.”

“It wasn’t.”

“But that’s what _you_ just called it,” Bucky prodded. He enjoyed pushing buttons, clearly.

“All I meant is that a date is what it would have _looked_ like. To the untrained eye. And I would prefer that it didn’t. Look like that.” _Eloquent,_ she berated.

“Any _particular_ reason why?” he question, his voice taking on an uncharacteristically timid tone.

It took her a moment of balancing, weighing her options before Shuri determined that she really _needed_ to mention it. It _did_ seem necessary, given how hastily she’d forced their exit back at the pub. “I may have...had a relationship with a colleague in the past that ended in a very unfortunate and... _public_ way.”

Bucky nodded along. “And you’re worried about that becoming your _thing?_ ”

“I’m glad you understand.”

The conversation evened out, headed toward something _lighter_ once again as they made their way into the castle and down through the bowels, into what had once been the dungeons. Shuri hadn’t even realized how far they walked until they were standing right outside of the door to her quarters.

“Thank you,” she murmured, peering up at him at she pushed a loose strand of hair away from her face, “for walking me back. I had a really great time.”

“Yeah, I did, too,” he agreed, shuffling from one foot to the next, “Wish it hadn’t been cut short though.”

“Me too.”

In a remarkably speedy return to his baseline level of arrogance, he leaned hard against the door frame then, bleeding into her space, “Then I guess we’ll just have to do this again. When are you free next?”

Shuri shook her head, leaning in and catching his scent before snapping at the door to unlock it and pushing it open. “I’m off early on Thursdays,” she sighed, her smile genuine. She couldn’t have rid herself of it if she’d tried.

“Thursday, then. It’s a date.”

She stuttered as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Without another word, he turned on a heel and made his way back down the corridor from whence he came.

“ _Not_ a date!” Shuri called after him.

“ _D_ _efinitely_ a date,” Bucky countered, giving her a final tilt of his head in farewell before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a while. I gotta be honest, with the state of things at the moment, I have been *remarkably* uninspired, but I feel like I'm starting to pick up steam again, so here is a little bit more! Enjoy chapter 8!

CHAPTER EIGHT

As it turned out Bucky was quite adept at sweeping a girl off her feet when he wanted to. After that first night at the Three Broomsticks, another dinner had followed shortly after. That had ended in Shuri admitting that – _fine –_ they were having a good enough time; Bucky could take her out on a proper date.

That’s how, on a clear night a couple of weekends on, Shuri found herself at the top of the astronomy tower, looking out over the darkened school grounds. It very nearly took her breath away.

“How did you manage to sneak this spread up here?” Shuri asked in surprise, peering down over the candlelit picnic laid out across the stone floor.

“I didn’t,” he admitted, bending to collect a couple of champagne flutes from the ground before handing the bottle over to her, “A house elf by the name of Bippy owed me a favor. I smuggle her cigarettes.”

“No,” Shuri chuckled, her eyes wide as she spun a finger around the bottle’s rim, ducking as the cork popped free. “Well,” she said, pulling his flute from his fingers and filling it, “next time you see this Bippy, you make sure to thank her for me.”

“I will,” Bucky agree, following her to the floor and leaning back against the hard wall of the tower, “The, um, Bloody Baron agreed to keep watch – scare off any kids who might come sniffin’ around up here.”

“And what did you promise to our dear baron?” she asked, leaning against his side and wiggling herself closer still with a shiver.

After a moment’s pause he let out a half-hearted chuckle, “Turns out he’ll do just about anything for a particularly ripe blue cheese,” he conceded, ducking his head.

Shuri nodded, impressed as she took a sip off of her champagne, “You really thought of everything, didn’t you, Professor?”

His face dropped noticeably at that, “Do me a favor and don’t call me _professor_ while I’m trying to put the moves on, huh?”

“ _Oh?_ ” she murmured, “ _These are the moves?_ ”

“A select few. Cold?” Bucky asked, watching with concern as another shiver overtook her. Before she could even have a chance to respond, he’d pulled off his cloak and nudged it in her direction, “Why don’t you put that on, Doll.”

Shuri glared playfully at her running taunt, “I am not your _doll,_ ” she said, before pulling his arm around her and nestling into his side once again, “and I’m alright. You don’t have to do that.”

“No,” he insisted, shaking the cloak out to its full length and throwing it over her bare legs. She’d made the mistake of wearing a short skirt, assuming that they’d be going _in_ somewhere rather than sitting out in the elements on an early October evening. “Can’t have you freezin’ to death, baby girl.”

Her brows perked as he grinned, “You are hellbent on finding a pet name for me, aren’t you?” Shuri asked, her voice filled with mock-dread.

“Is it so wrong of me to want to have a sweet little name for my girl?” Bucky murmured, sending a shock clear through her.

“I’m your _girl,_ am I?” Shuri challenged, “Not even one proper date in the books and I’m already your _girl_.”

Bucky shook his head in amusement, “First of all, this is _not_ our first date,” he insisted, leaning forward to load up a small plate with a few strawberries and some cheese.

She watched him idly as he picked over his plate. Her face began to heat as she watched, admiring his slender fingers, and the hair that slipped over his shoulders and fell into his eyes. Those _eyes_ , dull and blue, very nearly gray…they caught hers as one of those strong fingers slipped absently between his lips to get rid of a spare bit of strawberry juice.

“You okay over there?” he asked, his lips upturning slightly as he appraised her. “Still cold?”

Breaking out of her trance just long enough to swallow around the lump in her throat and shove down the butterflies working away in her stomach, she continued, “No. No, I’m...not cold.”

He nodded, his eyes stuck on hers as he gave her a sheepish smile. “Well...I am, so would you mind letting me under there?” he asked, Her cheeks warmed under his pointed gaze, but she nevertheless lifted the cloak to allow him under, smoothing it back down over both of them.

“Better?”

There was a noticeable change in their banter, as Shuri’s focus fell to his lips once again; they were devilishly plump, particularly inviting, and – _shit –_ definitely saying something that she hadn’t been paying even the slightest attention to. “ _Sorry,_ ” she whispered, shaking her head and letting her eyes stray to her hands, fingers knitting together nervously in her lap. “I didn’t hear...”

Pausing then, she took a deep breath to steady herself. This wasn’t her, she reasoned, as she pushed herself to her knees to face him dead-on.

“I’d like to kiss you.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them, seemingly stunning them both. The blank, furiously blinking stare that he fixed her with would have been hilarious if Shuri hadn’t been so utterly mortified.

When he didn’t immediately snap to, Shuri shook her head, a burning flush raising in her cheeks, “I’m...I didn’t...sorry.” she murmured weakly.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Bucky declared, grappling for her hand as she attempted to disengage herself from the cloak that had trapped her legs. With her lips pursed together, all of her will power engaged as she held his gaze. “You can’t just say somethin’ like that and then make a run for it.”

“So you wouldn’t...” she swallowed hard as his fingers intertwined with hers, “You wouldn’t mind if I just-”

As she leaned in, letting her forehead rest against his, he let out a punched-out sigh that – she had to admit – she didn’t all together mind. And the way he called her _baby girl_ in that breathless tone in the moment just before their lips met for the first kiss...well, she found she didn’t mind that entirely too much either.

It wasn’t earth-shattering. Truthfully, the whole thing felt rather...relaxed. Natural. But when they pulled apart, the way he _beamed_ at her had her taken aback.

“ _What_?”

“You’ve just got... _really_ pretty eyes,” Bucky murmured, his eyes sparkling as he burst into a little fit of giggles. He was _warm_ and she was fizzy, positively tipsy off the night and the champagne.

With a smile of her own, she pushed herself up onto her knees, pulling out of his grip and facing him dead-on, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, reaching up with one shaking hand to cup her cheek, “And you’ve got really pretty hair. And...and real pretty lips and...” His thumb swiped over her bottom lip then as the moment settled between them. “Can I...do that again?”

Shuri was caught up in the feel of him, those calloused fingers pressing into her jaw, the way his breath glanced and floated away from her skin in soft little swathes. She was confused for a moment when that hand fell away and he jumped as though he’d been burned.

“ _Shit,_ ” Bucky growled. It felt as though they’d just been doused with ice water – a true shock to the system. When Shuri’s eyes shot open she found the Bloody Baron’s round face and wide shoulders protruding from the floor between hers and Bucky’s knocking knees, “What the _hell,_ man-”

Shuri held up a hand to silence Bucky. If there was one thing she’d learned from her first weeks at Hogwarts it was that the house ghosts were prideful creatures, but there was value in staying in their good graces. “What is it?” she asked, her tone even, cordial.

With a pompous little huff, the Baron made a production of turning away from Bucky to address Shuri alone. “I’m afraid your _Don Juan_ has neglected to check the class schedules, milady. It appears the astronomy students are on their way here at this very moment.”

Footfalls barreling up the stone steps brought Shuri to her feet, Bucky quickly cleaning up behind them both, stuffing the remnants of their picnic under the cloak and heaving the entire pile into a far corner where it would hopefully go unnoticed. “Thank you, Baron,” Shuri whispered, holding a hand out as Bucky glared frustratedly at the landing.

“Well, the whole sneakin’ thing was fun while it lasted-”

“ _Shut up,_ ” she hissed in reply as a broomstick soared into her hand, “and climb on.”

He did so without a second’s consideration. Of course neither had realized how difficult flying under the influence would prove to be.

The broom zigzagged and jerked, dipping under their combined weight. Bucky let out a panicked scream, clutching at Shuri’s middle as they spiraled toward the earth below. She hadn’t quite determined how _long_ it would take to slow at the trajectory they’d been going; as such, they hit at the ground at near-full speed. Their heels dug into the ground, catapulting the two forward as they barrel-rolled to a stop at the foot of the Great Lake.

“ _Really_ ,” Bucky groaned as he flopped onto his back, breathing labored, “ _That was some flying, huh?_ ”

“You were the one who didn’t think to check the exam schedule,” she reminded him, glowering in his direction as she batted a bit of grime from her skirt.

They stood off for another few seconds, neither wanting to admit defeat before the other. Shuri caught sight of the slight uptick at the corners of Bucky’s lips, then, and they broke in tandem, laughing into the night. She leaned in, hovering over top of Bucky. He clumsily swiped her dangling braids out of his face, sputtering as he sobered. “Still...really pretty.”

She shook her head with a quiet chuckle, leaning in for a toothy, equally clumsy kiss as she did. “You flatter me, Barnes _._ ”

They continued through the night and into the early hours of the morning. Their tipsiness came and went. The cool night broke as the sun began to peak over the horizon.

“We should probably head in,” Bucky murmured with a yawn, his fingers interlocking with her own as they trekked the perimeter of the lake for the third time, “ _before somebody notices we’re out after curfew.”_ he whispered conspiratorially.

“ _Hush,_ ” she chuckled, giving his shoulder a wallop before looping her arm through his own, “Nobody is going to notice we’re gone. Not on a weekend. We could walk the lake until Monday morning if we wanted to.”

“But do you? Want to?” he countered, watching on in amusement as she finally let a yawn overtake her as well, “You’re exhausted.”

“Is it that obvious?”

He shook his head, eyes fixed straight ahead. _Smart. s_ he thought. On one hand, she was glad that _he_ knew better than to answer _that_ question. On the other, she dreaded what she would find when she looked in the mirror. He hadn’t _ardently_ disagreed, after all. They’d been drinking, wallowing in the muddy grass out by the Great Lake...there was really no telling.

The walk back to her chambers was far too quick for Shuri’s liking and as they stood outside the door, the atmosphere shifted noticeably.

“So...”

“Thanks for walking me back,” Shuri murmured, their interlocked fingers swinging between them, even as she stepped over the threshold and into her quarters, “I...we’ll talk soon?”

Bucky couldn’t hold back his snort., which seemed to alleviate some of the tension. “Yeah, you’ll hear from me _soon,_ ” he agreed, stepping forward and pulling her in for one final kiss, “Get some sleep, _lovebug_.”

“I think that might be the worst one yet,” Shuri said of the nickname.

“Regretted that as soon as it came out of my mouth,” he agreed, taking a step back into the corridor with a little wave, “Sleep well.”

She couldn’t bring herself to close the door until he was halfway up the corridor and out of sight. When she was finally alone, though, in the quiet of her chambers, the pure exhaustion she felt swiftly became too much to bear. Shuri stripped out of her mud-stained clothes from that night and into a set of loose pajamas before padding across the stone floor to bed. Sleep overcame her faster than it ever had up to that point.

When she woke in the morning, it was to bright sunlight streaming in through the arching windows...and the smell of breakfast. The smell drew her from bed, and she followed it all the way to the other end of the room where her desk was laden with all manner of eggs, pastries, and a pile of pancakes at _least_ ten deep.

_Good morning, Sunshine._

_Absolutely not,_ she glowered absently at the pet name as she read on.

_Enjoy your breakfast. I volunteered us both for babysitting duty on the quidditch pitch this afternoon. 1pm. I’ll save you seat._

_-Bucky_

Shuri shook her head in amusement as she settled in for her late breakfast. She made a mental note to pay him back in kind in the near future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave your kudos and your comments. I always appreciate them. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it!

**Author's Note:**

> The coming chapters will answer your questions; trust me. Leave a comment. Leave kudos. I could definitely use the encouragement. XD


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